Deadly In Stilettos (28 page)

             
Laurel took a deep breath trying to stay conscious. That is also when she realized she had been drugged. She knew the day would come when she would have to tell the truth. Only now, her life depended on just what truth she decided to tell. “The story I told you about my father molesting me and how he killed my brother, well, it was a lie. I made it up to get you to become my friend. I wanted you close just in case you tried something with Enry. If we were friends, that would have deterred you from betraying me. Demi, I am in love with you. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. Since that night I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. When I found out you were seeing with Greg, I got angry. I wanted him out of the way so we could be together.”

             
Demi almost laughed at the ridiculous shit she was hearing. She almost pissed on herself at Laurel’s stupid ass. How could she possibly think she would ever be with her? She was not gay, nor did she have any intentions of ever being gay. What had made Laurel think they could be lovers? Sure she had kissed a few girls in college, at fraternity parties, but that was the extent of it. Laurel Cordwright was crazier than she’d thought.

             
Laurel went on, hoping Demi would feel sorry for her and let her go. “I saw something bad that my father and one of his friends did and I tried to frame my father so that I could get his attention. My parents never showed me any love. They were always gone. I was left home alone all the time. But they simply adored my brother. They always made time for him, but not me. Why didn’t they love me the way they loved him?” Laurel cried again. Demi watched her unfazed by her little performance or sob story. She almost pushed her into the water. Laurel was giving her a damn massive headache. She was ready to go back to her hotel and make love to Greg.

             
When Laurel saw that her act wasn’t working of Demi, she continued. “Anyway, my brother overheard me telling my friend about my plan and threatened to tell my parents what I had tried to do and I killed him. I didn’t mean for it to happen but he just wouldn’t let it go. One day he kept asking me about what I was going to do and I ignored him at first, but then we started arguing. He kept threatening to tell what he heard and I snapped. I hit him over and over, pushing him down the hallway. When I realized what happened, it was too later. He fell down the stairs, dying instantly. My parents sent me away to cover up what happened. They told everyone it was an accident, which it really was, but I didn’t feel sad about it. They want me dead because I threatened to ruin their reputation by telling the truth about our deadly secret. I never planned on telling, but they didn’t need to know that.”

             
Laurel wasn’t sure if that was enough to change Demi’s mind about killing her, so she went on. “They are also responsible for killing an innocent man, who my mother claimed raped her. She was in love with him. He used to work for us when I was around twelve years old. I caught them together one day in the pool house. When I went to tell my father, my mother told everyone that he’d forced himself upon her. My brother was the product of that affair. And because my mother was the one with all the money my father never said anything about it.” Laurel fought back her tears.

             
“I remember playing in the woods with my friend Sarah one day after school. See Sarah always came over to play after school, and sometimes she would spend the night. We heard screaming, then gunshots. I wanted to go tell someone, but Sarah wanted to see what the noise was. The closer we got, the more I felt as if something terrible was happening. Then we saw it! We saw what they did to him! My father and some of his friends had the man my mother was having an affair with, and he was hanging from a tree. He’d been shot in the chest, badly beaten, and was just hanging there lifeless. Sarah ran home, but my feet could not move. All I remember is waking up in a mental hospital. When I came home, my parents acted as if nothing had happened. I never saw or heard from Sarah again. I tried asking my mother what happened to the man, but she just changed the subject. One time she had tears in her eyes. Before my brother died I began asking why his skin was so much darker than ours, and they threatened to send me away again. Why didn’t I just leave it alone? Now, my parents want me dead so that I will keep quiet about what I saw. I even overheard them talking about how they had gotten rid of Sarah too.”

             
Demi was silent. She could not believe all of what Laurel had just said. If it was true, why hadn’t Laurel gone to the police when she got old enough to get away from her parents?

             
“Laurel, why should I believe anything you just said? Why didn’t you just tell the truth in the first place?” The look on Laurel’s face told her all she needed to know. She was not sorry about what happened to the man in the woods, Sarah, or to her brother. Laurel was a sick and twisted individual. The look on Laurel’s face also let Demi know that if she was free, she would be the one fighting to stay alive. “I should have killed you when I had to chance, Bitch! You think you know everything, well you just wait! Your day is going soon,” Laurel spat looking pure demonic.

             
At that moment, Demi did not care about Laurel anymore. Before the other woman could say another word, Demi pushed her over the edge of the pier. Laurel’s body made a big splash, and then disappeared under the dark water. Demi waited to see if it would come back up, but it didn’t. Laurel Cordwright had chosen the wrong person to deceive. Now she was fish food.

             
The currents in the Hudson were deadly. Even if Laurel had not been tied to concrete blocks, she would not have survived. Demi just wanted to make sure she never was seen again. Like the man in the woods. Something deep down inside told her that Laurel knew more about what happened to that man, but it was too late now to find out what. The truth would never be revealed. Although Laurel had not originally been on her list, Demi crossed her off. Enry Williams and Anya Bankston were the only two remaining names. Soon they would become a distant memory too. There was no need to kill Laurel’s parents now, so their names had been mentally erased.

Chapter 17

             
WHEN DEMI got back to the Plaza, she had several messages. The first two were from Greg wanting to know where she was, and to call him immediately. The next one was from Tabi, checking to see if she was okay. The last one was from Anya Bankston. Anya apologized for trying to blackmail her and promised she would never do anything like that again. She also told Demi she was home in Dallas, and wouldn’t bother her anymore. Demi barely listened to Anya’s words. She certainly did not believe them. She was about to take a shower before Greg arrived, when a knock sounded at her door. Thinking it was Greg, she opened the door without looking through the peephole. Enry Williams stood there, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Hello, Deminis. Do you mind if I come in for a minute?”

             
Yes, Demi did mind. There was no way in hell he was setting foot inside her room. “I’m expecting someone and don’t have time to speak with you this evening, Enry. Maybe we can set something up at another date and time. And don’t ever show up at my door unannounced.”

“Oh, so this how you want it to be, huh? This is how you want to play me? Well, we’ll just see about that!”

              Before Demi knew what was happening, Enry had pushed himself inside the room and grabbed her. “Stop it!” He slapped her hard, splitting her lip. Blood splattered. He punched her in the face. Excruciating pain radiated through her jaw and nose. She knew that they were broken immediately. Demi fought hard to get Enry off her, but he was too strong. He pushed her down hard enough that when her head hit the floor, she blacked out. One of her worst nightmares had come true. Enry Williams was going to kill her before she got the chance to kill him. Demi remembered his last words, “uh huh, Bitch! You don’t get off that easy! Bring yo ass here!” He punched and kicked her in the face unto her face was unrecognizable and blood was everywhere. He didn’t stop until he was sure she was dead.

                                                  ~~~

Demi woke up in a strange white room, to the sound of machines beeping in her ears. Where was she? What had happened? Her body ached all over. She tried to move, and then it came back to her. She looked around, panic rising, and a hand touched her. It was Greg. Where was Enry? She couldn’t block away all the pain. A machine made a series of beeps, signaling a nurse to come administer more pain medication through her I.V. Greg was now standing up watching with tears in his eyes. Now, Demi realized, she was in a hospital room with machines hooked up to her.

             
“Good to see you are up, Ms. Bradshaw. You gave us quite a scare. My name is Rita. I’m your nurse this evening. I just gave you some pain medicine, so you should feel better in a minute. Try to relax.”

             
“Yes, Baby, just relax. You need to rest. You’ve been through so much over the past few weeks. Now that you’re awake, though, the police will want to speak with you.”

             
‘
A few weeks, the police…
?
’ Demi was scared. How long had she been in the hospital? More importantly, why would the police want to speak with her? She immediately thought about Anya. Maybe she’d gone to the police after all. Why would she keep her promise? Then Demi thought about why she was in the hospital in the first place, Enry. They wanted to ask her questions about the attack.

             
Demi tried to move, but realized her left arm was in a sling. Her face felt swollen, and her vision was blurry. Using her free hand, she touched her face only to find it wrapped with badges. She had a massive headache, and her body felt like she had been in the ring with Mike Tyson, losing miserably. Pointing to the pitcher on the table next to the bed, Demi indicated she needed something to drink. Her throat was dry as sandpaper. Greg walked over to pour her a cup of water. Her mouth hurt as she tried to drank, and the soreness got worse when she tried to swallow. After she sipped the water, Demi tried moving her body again, but it felt like it had been dragged by a car on a bumpy road. The more she tried to move, the more pain shot through her. She wondered when the pain medication would kick in, like the nurse had just told her.

             
As before, Greg seemed to know what she was thinking. He rubbed her hand. “It’s all over now, Sweetheart. He will never hurt you again.” Greg leaned over and kissed her bandaged forehead. Who and what was he talking about? Suddenly the room began to spin. Everything was dizzy, and then darkness. Demi was out again.

“Stop!” she cried. “Please don’t hurt me! I’ll give you anything you want, just please leave.” Enry ignored her pleas and came closer and closer. Demi tried to get away, but he grabbed her. He slammed her head into the wall. He punched her repeatedly in the face, breaking her jaw and nose. Blood flew all over the hotel suite. Each time she got up, he kicked her back down. He pulled her arm back behind her so far, it broke. Almost unconscious, Demi managed to kick him in his private parts, but even though he hollered in pain, he kept coming for her.

“Oh my god! Please! Please, no, no no!”

Demi woke up in a cold sweat. She had been dreaming. Looking around, she realized she was still in the hospital. Enry had come to her hotel to kill her. Why? Hadn’t he caused her enough pain in the past? “Demi, are you okay?” Greg put an arm around her as best he could. “You were having another bad dream.”

‘
Another! How many had she been having
?
’ Demi was glad Greg was there with her, but she needed answers. Because her jaw was broken, she could barely speak. Greg sighed heavily. He knew exactly what she was thinking. He didn’t want to talk about what happened at that moment, but her eyes pierced his soul firing with the need to know something. Greg sighed again before looking at her. “Demi, Enry came to your hotel suite weeks ago with the intentions of hurting you. He really did a number on you, Demi. Enry beat you severely, nearly beating the life right out of you. When I arrived you were on the floor covered in blood and he was choking you.” Greg paused to get his voice under control.